You may receive a gift from a private individual outside the EU without paying duty or value added tax (VAT) if:
If the consignment includes gifts to various members of the same family, you may be exempt from paying customs duty and VAT even if the total value of the consignment exceeds 400 SEK, provided that
Aunt Sara (living in the USA) sends a package to her sister Elisabeth in Sweden. The package contains gifts for Elisabeth and her children, Linda and Thomas. Sara has specified the contents of the package as follows:
The jeans and the binoculars are exempt from customs duties, as they are within the value limit. The total value of the camera, the shirt and the glass vase is 1,750 SEK.
If the total charges for the entire package are under 100 SEK, no payment is necessary.
Please note that freight and insurance charges should be included in the value used for calculation of customs duty and VAT when the value of the goods exceeds 400 SEK.
For consignments that do not meet the above requirements for tax or duty relief, we use a flat rate to calculate customs duties. The standard flat rate for customs duties is 2.5 per cent plus tax. This customs rate is only used for consignments whose total value is less than 7, 000 SEK. The standard flat rate for customs duties may not be used for consignments containing alcoholic beverages or tobacco products.
If the value of the consignments exceeds 7, 000 SEK, however, customs duties will be charged according to the customs tariff plus tax. The customs duty rate may vary from 0 to 20 per cent depending on the type of goods in question.
Certain goods may not be received duty free, even as gifts. Examples of such goods are alcohol and tobacco.
Remember, you must be 20 years of age to receive alcohol products and 18 to receive tobacco products.
Gifts from other EU countries are not subject to any customs charges. However, there are special regulations in place for certain goods, with regard to environmental protection and public health and security. Below you will find examples of such goods.